Wow isn’t that statement so true? As we get older in life you start to appreciate the consistency and safety of home. As a business traveler for more than eighteen years it’s amazing how your tolerance for “being on the road” evolves over time. It feels so glamorous at first with the different places, the reward points and meeting new people, but starts to fade over time.

I have been a “Hilton guy” most of my career maintaining diamond status since 2006. That is not to brag, but rather to give you an idea of how much and how long I have traveled. Several years ago our family decided to make the pilgrimage and move from Hershey, PA to Fort Mill, SC. One of the best decisions we ever made, absolutely love the weather, the people and location. In order to make that move we needed to first sell our house in Hershey and finish out the school year for our two sons. This decision resulted in our need to find temporary housing for about four months. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a town home or condo that fit our needs or was willing to accommodate such a short term lease. So the family huddled and we decided that we would pack up and make arrangements to live at our local Hampton Inn! It was great at first and our boys absolutely loved it since they were only in 2nd and 4th grade. Having breakfast in the lobby every morning with tourists and business travelers, eating dinner out every night and having the room cleaned every day. It was so much fun for them, but over time it began to fade. What was considered glamorous started to become mundane and unpleasant. They missed eating meals privately as a family around the table, the comfort of their own bed and the solitude of our home. For me personally the idea of business travel all week in a hotel then coming home to stay in a hotel was horribly unpleasant. Also, to this day when I walk into a Hampton Inn and catch a whiff of those waffles my stomach turns and I immediately feel nauseous. The good part was, we were able to power through those four months which made our eventual transition into our new home all the more special. To this day I feel like that time helped us realize the importance of our home and some of the small but very special daily disciplines we have such as sharing a meal together around the table.

Leadership takeawys:

1. For you personally, pursue to defend your home life as sacred. Don’t let your work life bleed into home life. While just a silly example, letting my work travel bleed into my home life with living in a hotel really infringed on a critical part of my self care by having clear separation between the two. This caused me feelings of anxiety, frustration and even a little sadness.
2. Embrace and value what you may see on the surface as not very glamorous. Eating out all the time and sleeping in a hotel seemed really cool for my kids but they quickly found there is beauty in simple and consistency
3. Your family is your fortress, they don’t deserve to be deprioritized because of your work. It’s not fair to them and not fair to you. I went through periods of my life where I did not follow this principle and even now battle with the fine line of maintaining that separation. It will inherently happen, but be quick to acknowledge it and make necessary changes to put your family back in first position.